Meeting Monday on proposed sewer line in Stoughton

Town meeting, which starts May 20, will act on a request for $500,000 to design and prepare plans to construct a sewer line from the Brockton line north on Park Street past Ash Street to near Fano Drive, and into the Campanelli Industrial Park. An informational meeting will be held Monday night.

A sewer line would attract new businesses to south Park Street and the Campanelli Industrial Park and allow existing businesses to expand, increasing the town tax base, town officials say.

Town Engineer Benjamin Fehan said town meeting, which starts May 20, will act on a request for $500,000 to design and prepare plans to construct a sewer line from the Brockton line north on Park Street past Ash Street to near Fano Drive and into the industrial park.

“I’m convinced we have a good project and we just need to get some support,” he said.

The town is inviting interested residents and businesses to attend a Park Street sewer project informational meeting and hearing to be held Monday at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall on the third floor of Town Hall, 10 Pearl St.

Fehan said town officials and business owners will present slides and make comments, then open the floor to answer questions from the public.

With sewer, vacant property along Park Street and in the industrial park could be developed, and businesses along the proposed route that are pumping out their septic systems once a week or more now because of soil conditions would see relief, he said.

“They have these enormous buildings that are essentially vacant,” he said. “It would certainly expand opportunities for utilization.”

Construction would cost approximately $6 million, and be paid for through a betterment assessment system.

Two-thirds of the cost would be paid by home and business owners along the sewer line. Assessments would range from $10,000 to $30,000 for most homeowners and from $80,000 to $240,000 for most business owners.

One-third of the cost would be paid by all other property taxpayers in town. The owner of a house not along the Park Street sewer line with an assessed $270,000 value would pay approximately $10 per year in taxes to finance a 20-year bond, Fehan said.

Design and construction would take two years to 30 months to complete, he said.

Fehan said the project would also open the door to future sewer expansion to residential neighborhoods adjacent to the Park Street line.